Thanksgiving: How are we planning on attacking this beast?
The MRC group started a thread to discuss their plans for staying OP during our favorite food-themed holiday so I thought I'd pose the question here so we can be prepared!
It's going to be hard for me, as a certified Foodaholic I love Thanksgiving. We generally celebrate at my house since we have the biggest house. My grandparents and my parents cook. They hardly ever lighten recipes, except for my aunt. My favorite dishes are the sweet potatoes and stuffing (and lets not forget the desserts ).
I'm debating taking on my favorite dishes as my job to cook this year so that I can revamp them into low cal dishes so I can enjoy the meal a little more. Or just take miniscule helpings of everything. For the past few food-centered holidays, even before I started my WLJ, I've been pretty good about the desserts - tiny tiny slivers of one or two desserts or just trying a bite of someone else's. I could just make some of the low cal cookies/scones/muffins I've made this month, but what I really crave is pumpkin pie and pecan pie. And I KNOW we'll have some kind of cheesecake, which is my favorite :< Let the googling begin for low cal recipes lol.
So gals, share your fears, thoughts, recipes and plans so we can all help each other stay OP and keep the scale in check this Thanksgiving!
Last edited by platformnine; 10-27-2009 at 10:33 AM.
As a calorie counter I'm just going to try to hit a 2 week average...say an average of 1500 calories/day for 2 weeks, and eat lower a lot of those days so I can eat higher on Thanksgiving. e.g. A week of 1200 calorie days gives me an extra 2000 calories, let's say an extra 1500 for the day and an extra 500 for leftovers.
Ooh Forest that's an idea I can live with. I'm just worried about the food itself because my family cooks with a lot of salt and fat. Damn Irish/Italians....
HungryGirl has a recipe for a Crustless Pumpkin Pie that I am going to try. We will be staying home this year and celebrating at my mother in law's house...no lightening up any dish either! lol
My sis told me that she spends the entire week before Thanksgiving doubling up on her workout or adding an extra ˝ hour of walking each day that way when she indulges she doesn't feel too bad about it. I don't know. I hope I can avoid it all together! SO MANY CALORIES for ONE meal!!!
Sorry to ramble...here are the recipes...courtesy of hungrygirl.com
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The HG version of crustless pumpkin pie is called Wayne's Pumpkin Smash, and it can be found in the "Fun with Canned Pumpkin" section of my first book, Hungry Girl: Recipes and Survival Strategies for Guilt-Free Eating in the Real World. (Find that section in the "Fun With..." chapter!) That "Smash" is REALLY low in calories! It's fantastic by itself, but it's also amazing topped with light vanilla ice cream or Fat Free Reddi-wip (or BOTH!). So do you have to buy the book to get that recipe? Nope -- I'm gonna give it to you right now, because I'm nice and you need to try it!!! (BTW, if you want to know who Wayne is, you will have to get the book!)
Wayne's Pumpkin Smash
PER SERVING (1 piece, 1/9th of recipe): 65 calories, <0.5g fat, 81mg sodium, 12g carbs, 1g fiber, 7g sugars, 5g protein -- POINTS® value 1*
Ingredients:
One 15-oz. can pure pumpkin
One 12-oz. can evaporated fat-free milk
1/2 cup fat-free liquid egg substitute (like Egg Beaters Original)
3/4 cup Splenda No Calorie Sweetener (granulated)
2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine all ingredients in a bowl, and mix thoroughly.
Place mixture in a baking dish (8" X 8" works well) sprayed lightly with nonstick spray, and bake in the oven for 45 minutes. (It will remain a little soft, like pie filling.)
Once ready to serve (it's delicious eaten hot or cold), cut into 9 pieces.
Serve and enjoy!
MAKES 9 SERVINGS
There it is -- hope you love it! BTW, store leftovers in the fridge... if you have any
I usually just give myself a "free day" on Thanksgiving. We eat pretty early, I think its an Italian thing, so its really only the Thanksgiving meal I have to worry about. I can't over-eat anymore, volume wise, its just uncomfortable and makes me kind of gag, so I just plan ahead of time - I'm going to have turkey, twice baked potatos, some veggies, possibly bread and maybe some carrots. I make a killer pumpkin pie, but I don't eat it, so dessert will probably be apple pie, which isn't too terrible the way I make it.
My sister and I are doing dinner this year (or just her, I'm bringing the pies) so I have some sort of control over it, and since we're doing it at our house, we're not going to have the lasagna and 8 meat courses that my grandmother usually serves.
I'm also going to convince my best friend to go to the gym Thursday and Friday morning - ie I'm using her for her gym membership in NJ.
I'm a low carber, but I plan on making a couple of sides and a dessert with me that I know are safe, then I'll just have small portions of the other food. Also going to wear a tight belt, drink lots of water, and keep a very unflattering pic of myself in my pocket...as a sweet little reminder, LOL. I think one of the most important things is that we begin psyching ourselves up now, so we are confident and planned for the occasion!
Thanksgiving: How are we planning on attacking this beast?
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